Approved Code of Practice
Prevention and Control of Infections and Related Guidance
This document sets out the Code of Practice on the prevention and control of infections, under The Health and Social Care Act 2008. It will apply to registered providers of all healthcare and adult social care in England. Dental Providers will come under this Code from 1st April 2011. The Code of Practice (Part 2) sets out the 10 criteria against which the Care Quality Commission (CQC) will judge a registered provider on how it complies with the cleanliness and infection control requirement, which is set out in regulations. Not all criteria will apply to every regulated activity but to ensure that consistently high levels of infection prevention and control are developed and maintained, it is essential that all providers of health and social care read and consider the whole document and not just selective parts.
What and who is the Code of Practice for?
The main purposes of the Code of Practice on the prevention and control of infections (The Code) are to:
- make the registration requirement for cleanliness and infection control clear to all registered
providers so that they understand what they need to do to comply; - provide guidance for the CQC's staff to make judgement about compliance with the requirement
for cleanliness and infection control; - provide information for people who use the services of a registered provider;
- provide information for commissioners of services on what they should expect of their providers
- provide information for the general public.
To view the Approved Code of Practice click here.